Mosquito net distribution: 'I have saved money'

PIC: Gitta Emmanuel distributing mosquito nets on Sunday. (Credit: Agnes Kyotalengerire)

HEALTH

WAKISO - "All the mosquito nets in my home were old, with holes. This is going to save me lots of money, as I was planning to buy new nets and replace the old ones," Catherine Nalubaga, a resident of Kiira in Wakiso district says.

She is referring to the mass distribution of mosquito nets to households in the area.

For Patricia Musiime, a mother of four and resident of Namugongo Buroli, the two mosquito nets she has just received will be taken by her children returning to boarding school next week

"The advantage with the nets is that they are treated. This will protect the children against malaria," she says.

Nalubanga and Musiime are beneficiaries of the concluding mosquito net distribution exercise in Wakiso district.

According to Dr. Henry Stanle Katamba, a monitoring and evaluation specialist at the National Malaria Control Programme at the health ministry, the mass distribution targeted 598,000 homesteads, with a total of 1,644,000 nets to be given out.

However, some residents were disgruntled for not getting the number of nets equivalent to the number of family members they had registered.

"They have given me only two nets yet I have four children,"said Rosemary Mubiru, a resident of Kyaliwajjala A.

In response, Katamba explained that the ratio for the distribution was 1:2, meaning; one mosquito net to be shared by two people. This means a person who registered four people was given two nets and one who registered seven people was given four nets.

"This was as per Government guidelines with recommendation from the World Health Organization (WHO). The guidelines recommend an average of one mosquito net for two people at every household," he said.

The distribution of mosquito nets was funded by Global Fund, Department for International Development DFID Government of UK, Presidential Malaria Initiative (PMI) and Against Malaria Foundation.

The national malaria prevalence reduced from 42% (MIS 2009) to 19%, according to the malaria indicator survey (MIS) 2014.  In Wakiso and Kampala district, the malaria prevalence is estimated to be less than 1%.

However, Katamba is optimistic that the just-concluded mosquito net distribution exercise will further reduce the malaria prevalence in Wakiso district.